What is the State of Global Mission Outreach in My Congregation?
“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time” is a powerful quote often attributed to the renowned motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. This quote encapsulates the importance of setting clear goals and objectives in order to achieve success in any endeavor.” One of the places most in need of clear goals and objectives is congregationally based global outreach. Many Lutheran congregations in NALC and LCMC don’t have experience at this because in the predecessor church bodies since the 1960’s, lump sum benevolence went to denominational headquarters. So, it’s not uncommon for our global mission involvement to be simply writing checks, some used locally and fewer globally, and is more disconnected from preaching the Gospel and making disciples than we may realize. It ends up as something happening behind the scenes, having limited connection with the ebb and flow of congregational life.
Rev. Dr. Carl Braaten
For many of the churches I have worked with this past 22 years, part of the joy of joining LCMC and later NALC was discovering they could be directly involved in local and global outreach! But there is a learning curve, and a need to ask how, where and why to engage directly, especially with global missions. Compounding this further is the scriptural drift evident during the same period of time. I quote frequently the late Rev. Dr Carl Braaten on this subject, spoken in an address in 1990:
“The church spends prime time on concerns for which it has no unique competence, but neglects the one thing needful which only the church, and no other agency in the world, has been commissioned to accomplish. …The apostolic mission of the Gospel created the church; we call it evangelism. God has given the church this commission to go with the Gospel to all who do not yet, or who no longer, believe. It is an assignment God has given to no other people in the world. If the church does not proclaim the message of salvation in the name of Jesus to those who do not believe, it will not get done.”
Does This Sound Like Your Congregation?
For many years, Faith Community had been blessed with a generous missions culture. The church always tithed from its budget, supported global workers, and engaged in local outreach. But over time, our model had grown organically rather than intentionally. As staff transitioned and new opportunities emerged, the gaps became clearer. Our giving patterns were generous but not strategic. We were supporting many good ministries, but not all of them were aligned with our long-term vision. Some partnerships had become “legacy relationships” that hadn’t been evaluated in years, while others were highly relational but fueled more by friendships than by calling.
Pastor Lucas Kinser
It takes some time and intentionality to thoughtfully prepare a “State of My Congregation in Global Mission Outreach”. Answering this question requires an honest look at your congregation’s recent past ‒ and longer ‒ concerning global mission. Is it worth your time and effort? Yes! It’s hard to say it much better than Pastor Lucas Kinser (Faith Community Lutheran [FCLC], Longmont, Colorado) did in our January 2026 issue of CGM Magazine:
Logo of Faith Community Lutheran Church, Longmont, Colorado
“I think many churches often feel the need to review or rebuild their mission strategy, but those conversations are easy to delay. Trust me, they can feel overwhelming, or they get squeezed out by more urgent ministry demands. But in our case, the review became unavoidable. We realized that if we wanted to be faithful stewards, and if we wanted our congregation to see missions not as a budget line but as a calling, we needed to make some changes…”
For any church new to LCMC or NALC in the past 15-25 years (hint: that’s everyone), very few had a history of direct involvement with global missions, whether it’s supporting missionaries or partnering with national workers. I remember well a conversation with a senior citizen member of a central Iowa congregation I met in 2005. He said, “We used to have missionaries in to speak regularly 30-40 years ago, but I don’t remember when or why it stopped!” So, for most a “State of My Congregation in Global Mission Outreach” may begin with acknowledging that in Global Mission, you don’t know what you don’t know!
I personally know just a few handfuls of churches like Faith Community Lutheran in Longmont, who began to tithe to local and global outreach after leaving the ELCA, and now are at 25%. Senior Pastor Dan Hansen and more recently Pastor Lucas have done an amazing job in working with their lay leaders over the years to foster and maintain a global mission focus and culture. This is not the place to name drop, but I mention FCLC because of Pastor Lucas’s recent article and am quoting him here. But don’t let the magnitude of their engagement deter you from being inspired by their example of practical and fruitful commitment to the Great Commission locally and globally, with a desire to keep improving along the way!
Where Do You Start?
Here are some simple, practical questions to consider:
- What is your main purpose in local and global outreach? Is your primary goal rooted in Jesus’ call to “go and make disciples” of all the nations (ethne)? (Matthew 28:19).
- Is your main emphasis on dispensing benevolence? Is there a group that meets to make these decisions? Are there any priorities established to guide investing benevolence dollars locally and globally?
- Do you have a mission team or committee that meets regularly to engage and inform the congregation about your congregation’s local and global outreach?
My primary ministry apart from CGM is serving Awakening Lives to World Missions (ALWM). ALWM has resources to assist, including my book Igniting a Passion for Missions: A Guide for Church Leaders, workshops and seminars, and more. Lack of resources for the journey isn’t the problem. The primary questions are really ‘WHY NOT’ and ‘WHEN DO WE START’? I often say that “in life and ministry, you always start WHERE YOU ARE, not where you AREN’T!” Not profound, but true!
Group attending a Harvest Focus Workshop at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Irvine, California, February 2024
We know that simple GPS navigation systems always start with “MY LOCATION”! Generally easy geographically as we simply click a button. It’s much harder, but not impossible, in other aspects of our life. Jesus Christ is Lord of HIS CHURCH, and commands us to be actively engaged with the missionary task given to HIS CHURCH so that one day people from every tongue, tribe, people and language are gathered around the throne. So, I urge you and your congregation to invest the time in preparing a “State of My Congregation in Global Mission Outreach.” And then chart a course forward!
Take the First Step and See How the Lord Works!
Once again, I quote my wise and gifted friend Pastor Lucas Kinzer:
“If I could offer encouragement to other congregations, it would be this: don’t be afraid to look honestly at your missions framework. Even faithful churches need fresh structure for new seasons. Don’t assume that reviewing your missions process will dampen generosity; in our case, it released it. And don’t underestimate how much your congregation wants to be part of something bigger. People long to see God working beyond their own walls, and they want to play a part in that story. The local congregation is most alive when it participates in the global mission of God and making sure the Gospel proclamation reaches people all over the world and in our own communities.”
To God be the Glory!
Bill Moberly, CGM Editor
